Science Comics: Crows, Genius Birds is much more than a flight of fancy

True story: when I was a child I had a pet crow. Its name was Big Bird. I was about nine or ten and my parents wouldn’t let me have a cat or a dog, so they got me a crow. I don’t know where they got a crow from, it’s not like there’s a crow store down the street. But for a very short period of time, it was my pet. Crows do not make good pets. Before Science Comics Crows: Genius Birds came out I would’ve bet that one couldn’t make an entertaining, much less educational book about crows. To that, author/illustrator Kyla Vanderklugt says hold my magpie and has delivered a corvid graphic novel that’s really something to crow about.  

We are huge fans of Science Comics, the graphic novel series on :01 First Second Books. They present a variety of topics in highly engaging graphic novels that are perfect for those in upper elementary school and up. It’s interesting to see how different author/illustrators approach their topics. Some of the graphic novels have a stronger narrative and some are more educational.  

Crows: Genius Birds manages to strike that middle road from the early part in the book and delivers one of the more satisfying books in this series. It’s ironic that this is the case given that my interest level is crows is low, despite the fact that we had one as a pet.  

In thinking about it, crows really are smart birds. For example, why is it that Big Bird would fly around our back yard and then willingly return to its cage? Granted, we fed it very well, but why did it see me, a 10-year old kid as something it wanted to come back to? Fast forward to when I realized that it was time to take it out to the country and let it fly free to collect shiny object.  

This graphic novel taps into numerous examples as to why crows do not deserve the ‘bird brain’ moniker that they’ve been saddled with. Much to the chagrin of Buddy, the dog who acts as a co-narrator, we learn that birds have a denser brain then mammals. Crow tricks Buddy into pushing open the gate, that the bird unlocked and then going on a trip around town.  

As the two traverse the city we see an illustrated history of crows in ancient times, learn about how crows teach themselves things, their family support system and much more. In a way the book is a Laurel and Hardy road trip comedy that manages to pack in as many educational tidbits as there are laughs.  

The narrative function of the book works well too. As the two move around the city they find things for the crow to educate Buddy, and us about. There’s no grand quest, but the book’s pace doesn’t need one as it’s more that you’re watching two pals go for a walk.  

Getting upper elementary or middle school readers to read non-fiction in their free time can be challenging in some instances. Science Comics Crows: Genius Birds is the sort of graphic novel that will capture their attention and make those ages want to read more. There’s a list of additional books and web sites that people can read at the end of the book, just in case their curiosity is piqued. This also works fabulously for those parents or educators that might not want their kids to read graphic novels. If that’s the case, then those folks really need to check out Crows: Genius Birds or any of the ones in the Science Comics series.  

There are affiliate links in this post, because, crows.